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Book Review: A Devious Descent, by A.A. Powers

I purchased a copy of A Devious Descent from the author, A.A. Powers.

a devious descent cover
When light fades and shadows play, the realm eater comes to take you away.

Frankie Hart thought she was as human as they come—until her brother vanishes, and she unravels a truth that shatters her world. Not only is she half-demon, but she is also the key to a prophecy that could either save or obliterate the human realm.

Zarreth, a demon from the Dark Realm, takes it upon himself to hunt Frankie and prevent the prophecy from unfolding. However, the longer he watches her, the more he becomes drawn to her in ways he can’t understand. His obsession grows when Frankie’s search comes to a dead-end, and she turns to Zarreth for help. Could she be his fated mate?

Together, Frankie and Zarreth must navigate a world where allegiances shift, and enemies lurk at every corner. Will Frankie succumb to the darkness inside her and become the instrument of destruction foretold? Or will their bond be enough to keep the darkness at bay?

my review

This was pretty lackluster. I mean it was fine, just kinda milquetoast. Despite my copy being over 350 pages, not very much actually happened. (I say my copy because it’s double-spaced—who does that—and I’m assuming not all are.) I liked the characters well enough. The world seems like it could be interesting. There’s some humor in there and some easy LGBT representation. I appreciate the cross-gender platonic friendships, even if the author seemed to feel obligated to make the friend gay in order to see it as a possibility. But the story itself? Meh. It’s inconsistent. There are plot holes. The emotional elements are conveyed with the subtlety of a hammer. I didn’t feel the love (or even the lust) develop, so it felt unsupported. Characters do stupid things for plot progression when perfectly logical alternatives that make a lot more sense are available to them. The end is predictable, etc. I’ve certainly read a lot worse. But…yeah, meh.

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Book Review: My Funny Demon Valentine, by Aurora Ascher

I borrowed a copy of Aurora Ascher’s My Funny Demon Valentine.

my funny demon valentine

Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, just wants to play music. Jazz, specifically.

Unfortunately, he’s a demon, and he’s supposed to be evil. A career as a musician isn’t exactly an option.
And he’s cursed, to top it all off.

Sick of playing by the rules, Ash and his brothers escape Hell in search of freedom on Earth, only to discover it’s harder than they thought to keep their enemies off their tail. The four rogues quickly become the Underworld’s Most Wanted, and if they’re caught…
The consequences will be dire.

Everything changes for Ash when he meets a beautiful violinist who can see through his curse. It must be too good to be true, but he can’t resist the temptation.
No matter the risk, he has to have her.

Evangeline Gregory is just your average human. She works at a jazz bar, plays gigs on weekends…
And, apparently, hallucinates demons.

At least, that’s what she tells herself happens when, moments after she meets the man of her dreams, she sees him shift into a seven-foot-tall, red-skinned monster.

Not believing her own eyes, Eva decides to investigate and soon finds herself caught in the middle of a supernatural clusterf**k of epic proportions. But Ash isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and the search for answers reveals a shocking truth that will change the course of her life forever.

Or maybe just doom it.

my review

I hated the first half of this book. Honestly, I’m surprised I stuck with it to get to the second half, which I liked well enough. Look, I understand sometimes characters have to be unpleasant in the beginning to give them room to grow as a character. But, man, I am so freakin’ tired of reading male romantic leads (and their friends who will likily be romantic leads in future books) who basically hate women, just see them as pieces of ass.

This book is particularly bad about it. In fact, if you really think about some of the things they say to one another, they’re probably rapists on top of everything else. Yeah, yeah, their demons, whatever. That’s not why the characters are misogynists…or, rather, why the author chose to emphasize the men’s disregard and dislike of women as their primary character trait, instead of literally anything else. This appears to be just clichéd writing on the part of the author. It’s not plot or character-dependent. So, I really disliked the first half of this book. The casual and constant disregard for women was sandpaper my funny demon valentineon my skin.

The author largely drops this in the second half of the book, as the reader is supposed to develop some attachment to the characters. I appreciate that Ascher didn’t bother with artificial miscommunication or a third-act breakup. Ash is sweet, the brothers’ banter is endearing, and I liked Eva. I might be willing to continue the series, but I’m not in any hurry about it.


Other Reviews:

Amanda’s Book Corner: My Funny Demon Valentine

 

 

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Book Review: Demon’s Mate, by Harper Dakota

I purchased a signed copy of Harper Dakota‘s Demon’s Mate from the author (through TikTok).  

Viv had her job, her best friend, and a great apartment. So what if dating had been awful lately? When her best friend finds his forever person, it turns out that those paranormal romance books she liked to read had some truth to them. Unfortunately, she also learns that having a mate doesn’t mean happily ever after.

Mac wasn’t looking for a mate, especially a human one. He’s avoided humans as much as possible for hundreds of years after his first mate tried to kill him. To say he has trust issues would be an understatement. He’s happy his friend found his mate and they seemed to be doing well, but no one could make him accept the one suddenly thrust into his orbit. Who knew fate would give him another mate after all these years?

Will they be able to overcome Mac’s fears, or will an enemy lurking in the shadows take the choice from them?

my review

I had a fantasy while reading this book. It went like this: the author hires a really good developmental editor who sits her down and makes her read every chapter out loud. Then,  explain how the events of that chapter contribute to the plot. They discuss, and the editor brings the author around to realizing that a full third of the chapters (like the one where the reader follows a character to work while he investigates a crime not relevant to the plot in any way) do not, in fact, progress the plot in any fashion and should therefore be cut. Yes, that means the book would be a hundred or so pages shorter. But it would be a significantly better book for it. Similarly, the editor forces the author to tell them the plot and helps the author tighten it up so it doesn’t feel so much like a list of random events that pop up indiscriminately, instead of a plot.

The simple fact of the matter is that I was bored out of my mind by this book. I liked the characters well enough. I appreciated the platonic cross-gender friendship, found family, and engaging sex scenes (even if they 100% do not fit the tone of the rest of the book). But, honestly, the story drags a lot. This isn’t helped by pedestrian writing and endless repetition. I lost count of how many times something happened or a character was told something, and then turned around and told someone else the same thing. I do not need to read everything twice. I do not want to read everything twice! This got significantly worse past the halfway mark.

Lastly, a large personal complaint (and a spoiler): As a heavy reader of the romance genre, I suffer heavily from rape fatigue. I’m just so sick of reading it. So, I am really critical of rape (and attempted rape) in books. I don’t mean trigger warnings or what is or isn’t appropriate in a romance/dark romance. But every time an author throws it in as a cheap plot device (and it’s too often just a cheap plot device), I pause and put true thought into it, whether it was necessary to the story or not. I similarly side-eye the use of a scorned (or similar) woman as a villain. (There’s no shortage of internalized misogyny in a lot of this particular trope’s depictions.) Here we have a villainous woman using gang rape as revenge for the loss of her lover. It isn’t necessary for the plot at all. In fact, it feels tacked on and out of place, considering the character has been physically abused for days prior to this event. The escalation feels unnatural. The torture was demons mate photobad enough without needing to go the extra mile. I promise authors, readers know a villain is a villain even if you don’t sign-post it with rape.

There are those who will love this book, I am sure. I did not. I could see good bones in it, but I do not feel the author managed to pull it off, and I also do not think the author and I have the same ideas of what makes a good story.


Other Reviews:

@angelg035rawr Review of Demon’s Mate by Harper Dakota. Overal a 3/5⭐️ for me. However character development is ✨✨. I do recommend this novel just go into it with the mindset of a lighter read. Support smaller authors as always. 🫶🏻 #paranormalromance #booktok #smut #bookreview #supportsmallauthors #reader ♬ original sound – Angel Lee